The Spatialization of Saintly Memory: Barakah and the Transformation of Hawl Ritual in Rural Madura
Article Sidebar
Published:
Jun 23, 2026
Keywords:
Ḥawl, Barakah, Spatial Memory, Pujhu', Madura
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article examines the transformation of ḥawl rituals in rural Madura through an ethnographic study of the ḥawl of Pujhu’ Karang in Aeng Reksa Village, Lembana District, Sumenep Regency. It responds to studies that frame ḥawl mainly as a ritual formation of genealogical and hagiographic memory around saints or sacred lineages. Drawing on participant observation, semi-structured interviews with religious figures, committee members, and local residents, as well as documentation of the 2025 ḥawl, this article argues that the memory of Pujhu’ Karang is sustained not through manāqib, genealogy, or extended biography, but through grave space, congkop, local naming, tahlīl, ṣalawat, preaching, and the pursuit of barakah. The ḥawl thus shifts from genealogical remembrance to a communal-spatial ritual. This finding shows that local sainthood can be produced through place, ritual repetition, communal participation, and village religious identity, even when historical knowledge of the commemorated figure remains fragmentary, unstable, and orally transmitted.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article Details
How to Cite
Masruroh, Hullatul, Mohammad Nasih Al Hashas, Nurkhalis Nurkhalis, Muhammad Thalal, Alfadhli Alfadhli, and Fathur Riyadhi Arsal. “The Spatialization of Saintly Memory: Barakah and the Transformation of Hawl Ritual in Rural Madura”. Islamica: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 20, no. 2 (June 23, 2026): 305-326. Accessed June 25, 2026. https://islamica.uinsa.ac.id/index.php/islamica/article/view/1282.
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
1. Books and journal articles
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “Dreaming Saints: Exploratory Authority and Islamic Praxes of History in Central Java.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 26, no. 1 (2020): 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13177.
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “Pilgrimage and Network Formation in Two Contemporary Bā ʿAlawī Ḥawl in Central Java.” Journal of Islamic Studies 25, no. 3 (2014): 298–324. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etu037.
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “The Upsurge of Memory in the Case of H}awl: A Problem of Islamic Historiography in Indonesia.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 1, no. 2 (2007): 267–279. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2007.1.2.267-279.
Azizah, Siti, Karnaji, and Bagong Suyanto. “The Production of Re-ligious Space: Lived Space and the Sacred-Economic Dialectic in the Sunan Ampel Pilgrimage Area, Surabaya.” Islamica: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 20, no. 2 (2026): 160–184. https://doi.org/10.15642/islamica.2026.20.2.160-184.
Casey, Edward S. “Public Memory in Place and Time.” In Framing Public Memory, edited by Kendall R. Phillips, 17–44. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2004. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.30297183.4.
Halbwachs, Maurice. On Collective Memory. Edited and translated by Lewis A. Coser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Handriana, Tanti, Praptini Yulianti, and Masmira Kurniawati. “Ex-ploration of Pilgrimage Tourism in Indonesia.” Journal of Islamic Marketing 11, no. 3 (2020): 783–795. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-10-2018-0188.
Husda, Husaini. “Ziarah Tourism at the Site of Habib Muda Seuna¬gan’s Descendants’ Tomb.” Indonesian Journal of Islamic History and Culture 2, no. 1 (2021): 73–101. https://doi.org/10.22373/ijihc.v2i1.851.
Jamhari. “The Meaning Interpreted: The Concept of Barakah in Ziarah.” Studia Islamika 8, no. 1 (2001): 87–128. https://doi.org/10.15408/sdi.v8i1.696.
Karim, Abdul. “Nyai Sabirah’s Folklore and Sacred Local Heritage in Central Java.” Cogent Arts & Humanities 10, no. 1 (2023): 2198629. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2198629.
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Translated by Donald Ni-cholson-Smith. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
Masduki, Anwar. “Ziarah Wali di Indonesia dalam Perspektif Pil-grimage Studies.” Religió: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama 5, no. 2 (2015): 167–190. https://doi.org/10.15642/religio.v5i2.568.
Millie, Julian. Splashed by the Saint: Ritual Reading and Islamic Sanctity in West Java. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004253810.
Mirdad, Jamal, Helmina, and Iril Admizal. “Tradisi Ziarah Kubur: Motif dan Aktivitas Penziarah di Makam yang Dikeramatkan.” Khazanah: Jurnal Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Islam 12, no. 1 (2022): 65–80. https://doi.org/10.15548/khazanah.v12i1.643.
Musthafa, Adib Khairil, Oky Bagas Prasetyo, and Amin Maghfuri. “Kiai, Ustaz, and Ghuru Morok: Contestation and Tolerance of Three Religious Authorities in Kangean Island, Madura.” Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan 21, no. 2 (2023): 561–586. https://doi.org/10.31291/jlka.v21i2.1125.
Nora, Pierre. “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mé-moire.” Representations, no. 26 (1989): 7–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928520.
Nugroho, Mukhlis Anton, Bambang Sunarto, and Budi Setiyono. “From Da’wah to Spectacle: Negotiating Sacred Space and Rit¬ual Meaning in the Commodification of Sekaten.” Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya 10, no. 2 (2025): 217–236. https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v10i2.46339.
Rohanda, Asep Saefullah, Ahmad Yunani, Wati Solihat Sukmawati, and Usep Abdul Matin. “Optimizing Pilgrimage Traditions and Community Empowerment: Integration of Spirituality, Socio-Economy, and Technology in Pilgrimage Practices.” Buletin Al-Turas 30, no. 2 (2024): 225–244. https://doi.org/10.15408/bat.v30i2.41742.
Saefullah, Asep, and Indrawan Cahyadi. “Pilgrimage Tradition at the Tomb of Kyai Ageng Muhammad Besari Tegalsari, Ponorogo: Religious Tourism and Strengthening National Identity.” Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan 21, no. 1 (2023): 215–258. https://doi.org/10.31291/jlka.v21i1.1078.
Setiyani, Wiwik, Nurhairunnisa, and Holilah. “Epistemology of Pundhen Telaga Sarangan: A Study of Sacred Rites as Cultural Identity in Magetan, Indonesia.” Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya 9, no. 1 (2024): 23–36. https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v9i1.33790.
Smith, Glenn. “The Making and Unmaking of Madura’s Sacred Tombs.” RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 32, no. 2 (1998): 211–249.
Subaqin, Agus, Antariksa, Lisa Dwi Wulandari, and Herry Santoso. “Patterns of Sacred Spaces in the Settlement with Religious Plu¬rality: Balun Village, Lamongan.” Journal of Islamic Architecture 7, no. 3 (2023): 391–402. https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v7i3.20020.
Widodo, Amrih. “The Stages of the State: Arts of the People and Rites of Hegemonization.” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Af-fairs 29, no. 1–2 (1995): 1–35.
2. Interviews
Kiai Ahmad Matin, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Mahrus, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Munir, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Salimah, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Miftah, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Ustādh Hadi, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Ustādh Naufal, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “Dreaming Saints: Exploratory Authority and Islamic Praxes of History in Central Java.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 26, no. 1 (2020): 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.13177.
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “Pilgrimage and Network Formation in Two Contemporary Bā ʿAlawī Ḥawl in Central Java.” Journal of Islamic Studies 25, no. 3 (2014): 298–324. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etu037.
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. “The Upsurge of Memory in the Case of H}awl: A Problem of Islamic Historiography in Indonesia.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 1, no. 2 (2007): 267–279. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2007.1.2.267-279.
Azizah, Siti, Karnaji, and Bagong Suyanto. “The Production of Re-ligious Space: Lived Space and the Sacred-Economic Dialectic in the Sunan Ampel Pilgrimage Area, Surabaya.” Islamica: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 20, no. 2 (2026): 160–184. https://doi.org/10.15642/islamica.2026.20.2.160-184.
Casey, Edward S. “Public Memory in Place and Time.” In Framing Public Memory, edited by Kendall R. Phillips, 17–44. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2004. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.30297183.4.
Halbwachs, Maurice. On Collective Memory. Edited and translated by Lewis A. Coser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Handriana, Tanti, Praptini Yulianti, and Masmira Kurniawati. “Ex-ploration of Pilgrimage Tourism in Indonesia.” Journal of Islamic Marketing 11, no. 3 (2020): 783–795. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-10-2018-0188.
Husda, Husaini. “Ziarah Tourism at the Site of Habib Muda Seuna¬gan’s Descendants’ Tomb.” Indonesian Journal of Islamic History and Culture 2, no. 1 (2021): 73–101. https://doi.org/10.22373/ijihc.v2i1.851.
Jamhari. “The Meaning Interpreted: The Concept of Barakah in Ziarah.” Studia Islamika 8, no. 1 (2001): 87–128. https://doi.org/10.15408/sdi.v8i1.696.
Karim, Abdul. “Nyai Sabirah’s Folklore and Sacred Local Heritage in Central Java.” Cogent Arts & Humanities 10, no. 1 (2023): 2198629. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2198629.
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Translated by Donald Ni-cholson-Smith. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
Masduki, Anwar. “Ziarah Wali di Indonesia dalam Perspektif Pil-grimage Studies.” Religió: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama 5, no. 2 (2015): 167–190. https://doi.org/10.15642/religio.v5i2.568.
Millie, Julian. Splashed by the Saint: Ritual Reading and Islamic Sanctity in West Java. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004253810.
Mirdad, Jamal, Helmina, and Iril Admizal. “Tradisi Ziarah Kubur: Motif dan Aktivitas Penziarah di Makam yang Dikeramatkan.” Khazanah: Jurnal Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Islam 12, no. 1 (2022): 65–80. https://doi.org/10.15548/khazanah.v12i1.643.
Musthafa, Adib Khairil, Oky Bagas Prasetyo, and Amin Maghfuri. “Kiai, Ustaz, and Ghuru Morok: Contestation and Tolerance of Three Religious Authorities in Kangean Island, Madura.” Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan 21, no. 2 (2023): 561–586. https://doi.org/10.31291/jlka.v21i2.1125.
Nora, Pierre. “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mé-moire.” Representations, no. 26 (1989): 7–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928520.
Nugroho, Mukhlis Anton, Bambang Sunarto, and Budi Setiyono. “From Da’wah to Spectacle: Negotiating Sacred Space and Rit¬ual Meaning in the Commodification of Sekaten.” Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya 10, no. 2 (2025): 217–236. https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v10i2.46339.
Rohanda, Asep Saefullah, Ahmad Yunani, Wati Solihat Sukmawati, and Usep Abdul Matin. “Optimizing Pilgrimage Traditions and Community Empowerment: Integration of Spirituality, Socio-Economy, and Technology in Pilgrimage Practices.” Buletin Al-Turas 30, no. 2 (2024): 225–244. https://doi.org/10.15408/bat.v30i2.41742.
Saefullah, Asep, and Indrawan Cahyadi. “Pilgrimage Tradition at the Tomb of Kyai Ageng Muhammad Besari Tegalsari, Ponorogo: Religious Tourism and Strengthening National Identity.” Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan 21, no. 1 (2023): 215–258. https://doi.org/10.31291/jlka.v21i1.1078.
Setiyani, Wiwik, Nurhairunnisa, and Holilah. “Epistemology of Pundhen Telaga Sarangan: A Study of Sacred Rites as Cultural Identity in Magetan, Indonesia.” Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya 9, no. 1 (2024): 23–36. https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v9i1.33790.
Smith, Glenn. “The Making and Unmaking of Madura’s Sacred Tombs.” RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 32, no. 2 (1998): 211–249.
Subaqin, Agus, Antariksa, Lisa Dwi Wulandari, and Herry Santoso. “Patterns of Sacred Spaces in the Settlement with Religious Plu¬rality: Balun Village, Lamongan.” Journal of Islamic Architecture 7, no. 3 (2023): 391–402. https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v7i3.20020.
Widodo, Amrih. “The Stages of the State: Arts of the People and Rites of Hegemonization.” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Af-fairs 29, no. 1–2 (1995): 1–35.
2. Interviews
Kiai Ahmad Matin, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Mahrus, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Munir, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Kiai Salimah, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Miftah, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Ustādh Hadi, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.
Ustādh Naufal, Interview, Aeng Reksa, Sumenep, 2025.